


His Butler, Patient

by MonkeyVenom



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Ciel's Birthday, M/M, really only very slightly sebaciel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-03-01 13:25:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2774651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonkeyVenom/pseuds/MonkeyVenom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ciel receives a surprise party and Sebastian is content to wait for his dinner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Butler, Patient

           “Happy Birthday, Ciel!”  The young man of seventeen gasped in shock as the lights of his dining room brightened, a group of people standing at the far end of the table.  He glanced at them, then at himself, and sighed – he was hardly dressed properly to entertain guests, someone should have warned him.  In fact, that certain someone who should have warned him was standing among the crowd of well-wishers, eyes alight with mischief.

            The Earl Phantomhive could breathe a sigh of relief, however; it seemed like it was only friends, family, and servants who were attending this little “party.”  Out of the crowd emerged the ever-excitable Prince Soma, Agni not far behind him.  His voice practically boomed off of the dining room walls, his eyes shining with yet-unshed tears.

           “Oh, Ciel, how truly wonderful it is that you have lived another year!  We shall eat and drink the night away, it will be splendid!”  Agni smiled somewhat apologetically, keeping his hands folded behind the prince, “We wish you many more to come, of course.”

            Out of pure courtesy alone, Ciel managed a smile at the volume of the Bengali prince, glancing over his shoulder to view the other guests.  Lau was lounging lazily, as per usual, the ever-faithful Ran Mao perched on the arm of the couch.  She and Ciel met eyes for only the briefest moment before she turned her head away, focusing back on the Chinese man.  Elizabeth and her family were there, the young girl turning her head and, upon noticing him, smiled brightly.  Admittedly, she had grown into quite the beautiful young lady, her hair much tamer than when she was young.  She was standing next to a young man, her newly betrothed; Ciel wished them well.  He held no future for Elizabeth, after all, so why should he selfishly deprive her of her happiness? 

            The servants were stationed at the sides of the dining room, watching the happenings of the surprise party with varying states of delight.  Finny was practically over the moon, having swapped out his gardener attire for something a little more formal and appropriate.  The boy had grown as well, his sunny smile growing even more radiant with the increase of his stature.  Baldroy and Mey-Rin stood a good few feet apart, watching the party contentedly.  Occasionally, if one observed them closely, they may have seen the two exchange a glance or two during the party, a silent conversation over the state of the party guests.  Tanaka was permitted a chair, sipping his tea while he, too, observed the well-wishers.  The older man looked up at Ciel, smiling softly.  The young man smiled back, always content to see the older gentleman comfortable. 

            Ciel made his way to the table, taking his place at the seat of honor.  Dinner was brought out, a fine array of dishes presented.  While it was easy to tell which dishes were prepared by the chef and which were prepared by the butler, one could not deny that Baldroy had tried very hard over the course of his service to improve his culinary prowess.  Mey-Rin managed to bring the dishes to the table without a scratch, nearly tripping only once.  Her balance was improving, thankfully.  Finny was in charge of presenting gifts, and gave each to Ciel with measured carefulness.  Not a gift was harmed, the paper only slightly ruffled.  It was needless to say that Ciel was proud of his serving staff and of their progress. 

\-----

            The gifts unwrapped and presented, the partygoers sated, Ciel saw each of them off with what could be seen as genuine well-wishes.  The event, though unplanned by the earl, was both pleasant and enjoyable, no incidents of embarrassment to note.  It was nothing short of a miracle, to be honest. 

            As the last carriage pulled out of the drive and out of sight down the dark road, Ciel turned on his heel and strode back into his manor, the door shutting behind him.  It nearly surprised him when Sebastian finally spoke, having been nothing but complimentary the entire night.  “I do believe it is time for the young master to retire for the night.  You all have done well.”  The three servants seemed a bit surprised at the praise, each murmuring their thanks.  Tanaka wished them a good evening as well, the older man making his way down a hallway, perhaps to do his own nightly surveillance.  Ciel honestly wasn’t for certain how Tanaka spent his nights, and he certainly wasn’t about to ask.

            Sebastian smiled, holding a candelabra in hand as he beckoned the young man up the stairs.  Even after the time they had been together – nearly seven years now – their routine had hardly changed.  Sebastian still offered to bathe and dry him, although Ciel had begun to feel a little “off” when the butler preformed that duty.  He still had the long nightgowns, of course, the soft cotton easy on his skin and comfortable to wear.  Sebastian no longer held him, as Ciel’s ever-increasing stature made it understandably difficult to do so.  Nevertheless, he still brought the nightly cup of warm milk, occasionally with the addition of honey when Ciel had been particularly well-behaved.

            Sebastian wrapped a towel around the young man’s waist before grabbing another to dry his hair.  Ciel closed his eyes, the nightly ritual both pleasant and nerve-wracking.  He couldn’t tell if it was his imagination that the butler’s eyes were on him a little bit longer than necessary or if it was simply his adolescent hormones running amok.  Whatever the case may have been, he swatted Sebastian away, mumbling that he could do it himself.

            He noticed his butler’s face tense for just a moment before he nodded, excusing himself from the room.  Ciel knew that he had done something to earn the demon’s ire in that moment, but how?  He certainly hoped that the demon wasn’t so childish that he would be angered over the fact that their nightly ritual had been interrupted, but perhaps Ciel thought too highly of him at times.

            He finished drying himself off, coming into his bedroom to see his butler standing with his nightgown.  He allowed him to pull the fabric over his growing frame, smiling at the familiar feel of cotton.  Sebastian stood back, allowing the teen to crawl into bed before he pulled the covers over him, as was per routine.  Ciel’s clothing from the night had already been folded and put away, his eye patch set aside neatly.

            Ciel yawned, glancing up at his butler.  The demon had set the candelabra off to the side, kneeling beside the bed.  His eyes never strayed from Ciel’s, which served to both unnerve and intrigue the boy. 

            “What are you staring at?”

            The demon smiled, his teeth pearly in the low light of the room, “It is nothing at all, my young lord, I am merely pondering.”

            “Pondering what, exactly?”  Ciel narrowed his eyes suspiciously, watching the demon for any tricks.

            “Only how you are my longest held contract, the one in which I have never grown tired of waiting.”

            “Oh, I see, well if that’s all – wait, what?”

            A gloved hand stroked the teen’s forehead, sweeping some of his bangs aside to show the contract eye clearly, “You alone have held my interest for this long, my lord.  No other human can claim such an honor.”

            Ciel smiled, shaking his head to set the bangs back over his eyes, “I sincerely doubt that.  Demons aren’t patient.  They take what they will without a second thought, not to mention they’re greedy-“

            The teen’s taunt was cut short by cold lips sealed over his own, Ciel’s eyes widening in surprise.  The butler pulled back, smirking as if he had solved some sort of riddle. 

            “It is true.  We are impatient and greedy when it comes to common things.  Never when it comes to matters of a soul worth savoring.  I eagerly await the day when your revenge is met, when sweet satisfaction flavors that soul and mingles with the years of carefully cultivated bitterness and loathing.  I will wait for that day, and never stray for a single moment.  Such is what I promise to you, my lord.”

            Ciel said nothing, staring at the demon for a long moment before turning his head, “…Do what you wish, the end result will be the same, won’t it?”

            Sebastian shook his head, gaze never leaving him, “Every move I make is made with purpose.  Even a single word spoken incorrectly can forever change the course of one’s life, wouldn’t you agree?  As such, I will play the part of the loyal butler in this ever-moving game.  Even until the end.”

            “What about beyond?” 

            The question took the demon off guard, red eyes staring quizzically at the young man, “What do you mean by ‘beyond’?”

            “After my revenge is taken, when it is all said and done, will you still be Sebastian?  Or will he perish as well?”

            The demon pondered the question for a long moment before responding, gaze narrowed, “I do not intend to keep an identity for a soul that no longer requires it.”

            Ciel smiled, curling into the sheets, “I suppose it is just as well.  When I pass, so too shall Sebastian.  It’s almost poetic.” 

            Rising from his position, almost a little too abruptly to be coincidence, the butler picked up the candelabra.  “Happy birthday, young master.”

            With a puff of breath, the flames flickered before the room went dark.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize if this story seems a little rushed, finals week is an awful time for Ciel to have a birthday.


End file.
